


HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS

by constellationsofsentences



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dorcas Meadowes writes books, F/M, Fluff, For some reason they all live in glasgow, Frank and Alice are there, James and Remus are co-workers, James is sappy, Lily plays the violin bc why not, Peter is still a bro, Sirius and Remus are cute, it's Christmas, they are all bros, they're in college
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 09:37:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8974477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/constellationsofsentences/pseuds/constellationsofsentences
Summary: It's Christmas time, which means buying a sappy gift for your significant other. 
Or 
Lily and James are grossly in love and they don't care who knows it.





	

The rain fell down like it had a bone to pick with the roads; with a fractious anger. People swarmed the streets, last minute Christmas shopping bags in hand, and a traffic jam was snaking its way up the street. In a small coffee shop tucked away behind the library, James distracted himself from the miserable weather by trying to fix the handle of a broken mug. The café was reasonably full of people who lacked umbrellas, and raindrops tracked the windows slowly. In the corner, some students and a failing author clacked away at their laptops, and on the other side of the shop, a large shopping party who had neglected to bring rain protection were eating their way through the entirety of the small store’s supply of sandwiches. His co-worker, Remus, was trying to restart the sputtering coffee machine, and failing rather spectacularly. The bell rung, indicating another person’s entrance, and James went to the register. He fixed a fake smile on his face, that grew into a real one when he saw who was on the other side of the counter. 

“Hey, Lils,” he said. Her eyes crinkled at the corners as she grinned at him, and James felt it: the little lump in his throat he got when she was happy. She fixed a lock of hair under her beanie and rubbed her hands together to remove the cold.

“I’m done,” she said. “When does your shift finish?”

James glanced at the clock. “Give me... twenty minutes.”

Lily’s presence lifted James’ spirits significantly, and he finished cleaning the cups with an enthusiastic bounce in his step. She had balanced her shopping in the chair opposite her, and the author (who was a regular at the shop, her name was Dorcas and she was writing a sci-fi novel about the exploration of Pluto) came up to talk to her. Lily replied animatedly, and James felt his eyes constantly pulled to her as she waved her hands in gentle excitement. To James, Lily was a bird: she belonged in the sky, where she could dance and sing to her heart’s content. Instead, she was stuck in this dull Scottish city, practicing her violin when she could, and working part-time at a hotel. 

The twenty minutes passed faster than James was expecting, and he was taking off his apron by the time the clock hand hit five. He took Lily by the hand, bid Remus goodbye, and she opened the umbrella at the door. The rain had cleared, slightly, and together they ambled down to the park. Lily laughed to herself, softly.

“What’s up?” James asked.

“When I came to Glasgow, I thought that… I don’t know. I thought I’d be playing concerts by now, real concerts. I never thought I’d be so… so similar to how it was in Surrey.”

“Glasgow is bigger,” James offered, and Lily laughed. 

“I was going to go down to London, you know,” she said. “But London’s so… crowded. I’d never been to Scotland, neither.”

“Well, if you’d gone to London, you’d have never met me.”

“What would I have done?” Lily grinned, and ran ahead, muddy shoes becoming muddier as she ran through the puddles that seemed to be everywhere. The hem of James’ jeans was soaked by the time he reached her, and the umbrella lay on the grass to the side.

“Honestly, James,” Lily said, “you have to get it, now.”

“You were the one who was holding it!” James protested, but laughed and picked his way around the _DON’T WALK ON THE GRASS_ sign. He was glad he had worn his old trainers today because there was mud everywhere. He picked up the umbrella, and held it above his head as he returned to Lily, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head to the side to rest against his shoulder, and they walked in soft silence for a while. 

Suddenly, Lily lifted her head and pulled James to the right sharply.

“Come on,” she said and began to lead him towards the bandstand, which was only really used in the summer. Otherwise, it was left alone, generally. She grinned at him, shifting the violin case on her back.

“I was thinking,” she began, “that for Christmas I would bring you here, and give you a little concert or whatever.”

James smiled, and Lily followed suit, her eyes crinkling up in the way he loved so much.

“I always want to hear your music,” James said. It was true: Lily played with such emotion, such dedication. James loved it. 

She laughed, now, as she got out her bow. “Sure. It needs a bit of work, but…”

“Just play the goddamned thing,” James teased. She did: a mess of notes, falling over each other but still managing to be completely captivating and memorable. They were quite a picture, standing together, the girl with bright eyes and hair made from candlelight, effortlessly carving James’ world with a bow and a violin, and the boy beside her, glasses crooked on his nose and awe written all over his face, watching the girl with all the amazement she deserved but had never gotten. 

When she finished, James had to blink a few times before he could register it was over, he was still so enraptured.

“That was… brilliant,” he said, and practically soared when she smiled that glorious smile.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He shook himself out of his reverie long enough to remember something.

“I wanted to show you something, too.” 

She followed him eagerly along the decorated streets. Occasionally, they would pause and admire the window decorations. With his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders, he felt endless. He smiled, again, and gestured her over to look at a shoe shop’s window, gazing in awe at the tree built entirely out of shoes.

They arrived at James’ apartment, cheeks flushed and eyes bright. He pushed open the door slowly, enjoying the dramatics of it all. 

The hall was decked with fairy lights, in the mismatched but effortless way that only Sirius could achieve. James took Lily’s coat, grinning ear-to-ear. She ran a hand over the radiator and laughed at the  _ Frozen  _ poster which hung on the bathroom door, before continuing into the main room, from which faint music could be heard every so often. Fake snow was littered everywhere, and on the couch sat James’ roommate and best friend, Sirius, holding hands with none other than Remus. James raised his eyebrows: he had not been made aware of this relationship. Or perhaps he had, but he had been thinking about Lily at the same time. An old-timey Christmas movie was playing, it might have been  _ A Christmas Carol _ . The radio was playing, too, a crackly rendition of  _ Let it Snow _ . Alice Fortescue was at the kitchen counter, ladling out tubs of cake, and her boyfriend, Frank, was assisting. Even Peter was there, laughing at something Marlene had said. Dorcas, the author, was also there, discussing something with Mary MacDonald and Emmeline Vance. 

James whispered, “As nice as this is, this is not the surprise I was going for.”

Sirius, having noticed them, whistled. “Hey, best friend.”

“Hey,” James replied. He picked up the radio on his way out and led the way to the balcony. Lily followed, pausing to say hello to various people, and James set the radio onto the ground. The city shone beneath them: it wasn’t quite a romantic Paris view of the Eiffel Tower, but at least it was a view (of a car park and a supermarket, but a view nonetheless).

“Romantic,” Lily remarked when she stepped outside.

He grinned. “One of my main reasons for choosing this apartment was so I could be a cliché, and take you out here.”

Again, there was that laugh, and he laughed with it. He reached for the bag which he had carefully positioned there earlier that day. 

“So, I got you these.”

She took it, and her beautiful hands brushed his. “Thanks.”

“You too,” he said. There was a pause before he blushed bright red. “Uh, I mean, you’re welcome.”

She opened it and stopped. She didn’t say anything, and James opened his mouth to apologise for the shitty present, before she threw her arms around him.

“You're joking.” 

He was startled, to say the least. He didn’t consider the present to be that brilliant: it was just a ticket to see––

“The Weird Sisters? James, how?”

Sheepishly, he replied, “Apparently, Marlene knows the drummer’s cousin? Or it might be the bassist’s, I don’t know.”

“Well, they’re also my favourite band in the world.”

“Yeah, I listened to a few of their songs––I have to, because I’m coming too––” he said, and paused, for dramatic effect, “and they’re pretty neat.”

“They’re more than pretty neat,” she said.

“Definitely. They’re brilliant.”

He glowed with pride at his successful gift. 

She said, “Aren’t you supposed to say you love me, now?”

“Actually, I think it’s you who’s supposed to be doing the ‘I love you’-ing,” he joked.

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s you,” she whispered.

“Well,” he said, “I’m pretty sure that if I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t have gotten you that amazing present.”

“You’re an arrogant dickhead, Potter,” she said, but without heat.

He smiled. “An arrogant dickhead who’s completely in love with you.”

Their foreheads touched, softly, and she laughed. “Love you too, prick.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to be on [tumblr](http://exceisiors.tumblr.com)!


End file.
